The former Chicago & Northwestern railroad depot which formerly served the small South Dakota town of Miranda stands in the field near a couple of railroad crossing signals, decades after the Chicago & Northwestern railroad tracks were abandoned and removed.
This red painted wooden depot is confusing because on its south side the featured town name is Miranda, on the west side the depot shows Ipswich, on the north side it shows Powell.
Each of these towns were formally on the C&NWRR before the railroad tracks were abandoned and removed: Ipswich is 36 miles north of Miranda, and Powell is 25 miles north of Miranda, 10 miles south of Ipswich.
The other side of the depot appeared to be in the backyard of someone's farmhouse, so we didn't wander around over there.
Blasterz are not sure what's going on here: is the town of Miranda trying to pull together a little museum, order did the small town see an opportunity to commemorate three depots in one future museum?
At any rate, Blasters could not pass up the opportunity to get a photo of Older Sister Blaster with her same-named depot.
Miranda SD is also an outstanding place to find Leopard frogs - at least in the summertime. Miranda Blaster is a frog enthusiast, and a TCU Horned Frog fan.
We spent more time than we had expected in the town of Miranda.
From the Miranda SD website: (
visit link)
"In 1886, the small town of Miranda sprouted up with the
arrival of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
Railroad Depot is on extreme left above.
The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad had completed track
as far west as DeSmet by 1879, Huron by 1880, north to
Redfield by 1882, west to Miranda and Faulkton by 1886.
Dakota Territory was
organized in 1861.
The Homestead Act was
enacted during the Civil
War in 1862.
In 1872, most of the settlers lived in the SE part of the territory or along the Missouri River.
The Great Dakota Boom that lasted from the late 1870s to the mid-1880s nearly tripled the population of Dakota Territory.
South Dakota was formally admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889.
The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad came into Miranda SD via Huron SD in 1886.
The railroad brought many supplies to Miranda, including lumber, posts, wire, machinery, coal, gas, and kerosene. Mail came in and out by rail.
The railroad shipped grain out, with grain loaded by wheel barrow and ramp into boxcars during the early years. A stockyard, owned by Phil Findeis, allowed cattle, pigs and sheep to be shipped to other markets. Wool and cream were shipped, with the wool being bagged for shipping in the depot's freight room.
Some families and their possessions arrived by rail, others by team and wagon.
Towns were platted by town site companies which were subsidiaries of the railroad companies, by private entrepreneurs, or by groups of settlers.
Of the 285 town plats registered in Dakota Territory between 1878 and 1887, 142 were platted by railroad companies or their subsidiary townsite companies.
In 1886, Miranda was platted by the Western Town Lot Company which was subsidiary of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in what at that time was Dakota Territory.
Miranda:
Stock pens, 4 pens, 96'x96', with shed, scale and piping $961
Passenger and freight depot, built 1887, 1 story, frame, shingle roof, 22'x64' $1,865
Outhouse $141
Furniture $411
Grading $101
Platforms and sundry items $250
Total $2,768
Miranda was the third station on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad in Faulk County and was located eight miles west of Rockham and nine miles east of the Faulkton.
The depot was used as a church part-time until 1908, when the present Miranda church was built. The waiting room and freight room was also used as a community meeting place, dance hall, and men gathered to keep warm, visit, and gamble.
The depot was shut down on March 15, 1958."